Coupling for bracelets



Patented' Sept. 7, 1926.v

Unirse ,STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Countriesr non nRAcnLnrs.

vApplication filed. May'O, 1926. Serial No. 110,366.

This invention relates to 2in-improved construction otcoupling or connectorfor attachingftogetheropposite ends or a' chain, bracelet, necklace, or other ysimilar articles; and has tor itsl obgect to provides.. coupling y of this character which comprises essentially a Ipair of socket members one -attachedto either-fend oit thebracelet or thelike'vand a,

separate catch/member formed ot a* spring plate having laterally extending springkugers at one end thereof to enter one of said socket; members andbe permanently locked l-ierein,-the opposite-Tend portion of this catch member being :folded back upon itselt` and having a presser member, tliis'end being arranged to ,ent-er` theliother oft' said socket members to be releasably connected thereto.

`With these and otherobjects in View, the

i invention consists oi' ,certain novel `features oi' construction, as will, bei vrmorefully described, and particularlyxpointed out in theY nectedv byv theV improved `connector member# Figure 3' is fa perspective"viewer one 'ot the! socket members. v e

. Fig-ure 4 isa-:perspective view .of the other one of the socket members.l .A

Figure 5 is a; perspective view of' the con,- nectjor member ready to be insert-ed into its res nectzve socket members.

igure 6 is ,ai perspective 4vievv' showiifigv one end of the connector'member fashavingbeen-v passedgthrou'ggh the "slotfing its end Wall and having been permanently connected: to its* socket. member.. i Y

Itl found'fiii thelv practical construction and operation of couplings for bracelets, and the like, of advantage to provide a spring catchmember in which the ends of the bracelet or thelike 'may be releasably connected y together. And it is also found of advantage tov permanently connect'this spring catch ln'ected to` the ments in a simple and efective Way, We

have Yprovided a separate socket member having-an edge portion adaptedto beconunderside ot the bracelet by solder. Y g

rThe socket member is provided with a slotted end wall and one end of the catch member Ais provided with spring fingers adapted to be snapped through this slot to engage the Vinner face of this Wall and so permanently secure this end ofthe member therein, the opposite end or' the catch memeberl being somewhatv in the usual form to be releasably connected to another socket which maybe similarly attached by solder or othen Wise to the opposite end of the bracelet, by which construction it will be seen that the soldering heat is applied to the socketmem# ber for connecting them-in position, before the spring catch member isconnected there'- toz; and kthe rolievving" is a detailed descrip` tion of the present embodimentot the inven-tion and showing one construction et' coupling byy which these advantageous reel sults may be obtained: v

71th. rei'erence to the drawings, 10 designatos one kof the sock-et members Which is herein shown as being in open box form, the

edges 11- o't the box. being adapted to be solderedv against the under side of the end ot the band'bracelet 12,. or kother similar device, which serves to close this portion or' the box.

The end Wall 13 of this socket member is slotted as at lt, the slot being' eta length lessthan that of this Wall thereby lea-ving unsletted corner` portions 15 therein. The slot as illustrated. inl Figure 3, is made in '1T-shape but: the cutting away of the upper haras at 16,. isf-not essentialto the oper..- tion of thejdeviee in this particular case.

The ,other socket member 17 is provided. With a similar T-shaped slot, the second socket member being also somewhat in box shape with its edgesV 1S arranged to be ,'solderedfto the under side of the endportion 19 ot the bracelet.k The end Wall 20 et' Vthis socket is. slotted as at 21, forming said T-shaped slot. .K

The connecting catch member 22 is pref-k erably formed from a fiat strip ot spring stock, one end kof the member being provided With elongated arms 23 extending lat-k erally from its opposite edges, the extremi-` at its entering end 25 so that when this end is inserted t-hrough the slot 1d of the socket 10 these arms will be compressed laterally inwardly upon being passed througl': the slot will spring outwardly to engage the inner face of the end wall 13 at the points 15 and as there are no meansfor disengaging these arms after having been snapped into place when the socket lO is soldered in position to the underside of the bracelet, this catch member is' permanently locked to its socket and can not he removed therefrom without ru pturing the parts.

The opposite end 26 of this plate has a narrow portion 27 which is folded back upon the body portion of the plate and is spaced slightly from the body portion and this folded end is provided with a presser member 28 which` extends out through a slot 30 in the face of the bracelet whereby when it is desired to connect the two ends of the bracelet together it is only necessary to insert this end QG of the catch into the slot 21 of the socket member 17 when the folded member 2T will he compressed to snap up after entering the socket to engage the inner side of the end wall 520 thereof, thereby releasably connecting the opposite ends of the bracelet.

lVhen it is desired to disconnect these ends, it is only necessary to depress the presser 2S which causes the shoulders 29 to be disengaged from the walls 2O of the socket 17 to 'freely slide through the slot 21 and permit separation of the bracelet ends.

This improved coupling member is very simple and practical in construction and is effective in its operation and by its use the socket members may be soldered in position on the under side of the bracelet and the catch member subsequently attached thereto without the use of a further soldering operation.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but we desire it to be understood that we reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

lVe claim:

1. A coupling for bracelets and the like,

comprising a pair of socket members one attached to each end of the bracelet and a catch member formed of a spring plate havingspring fingers extending laterally from its opposite edges and arranged to enter the slot of one of said socket members to engage its inner walls to be wholly inclosed and permanently locked therein, an opposite end portion being folded in spaced relation back upon itself with a presser extension member and arranged to enter the slot in the other of said socket members to be releas'ably connected thereto.

2. A coupling for a bracelet and the like, comprising a catch member formed of a spring' plate having one end folded back in spaced relation upon itself, said folded end having a. raised presser end member, the opposite end portion of said plate having laterally extending resilient locking arms, a socket member to be attached to` one end of the bracelet and having a slotted end wall through which said arms are snapped to engage the inner face of said wall, to be entirely inclosed in said socket and locked therein, and a similar socket member arranged to be connected to the opposite end of the bracelet and also having a slotted end wall to receive the folded end of said catch member to temporarily retain the saine, said presser member extending out of its socket to move the same to release position` A coupling for a bracelet and the like, comprising a pair of catch receiving members having portions to be permanently attached to the under side of the opposite ends of a bracelet, each of said members haying a slotted end wall, the slot in the wall of one being of a length less than the length of said wall, and a catch member having a spring tongue with an extending presser member at one end for releasably engaging the slot of one of said members, and a pair of laterally depressible side arms on t-he opposite edges adjacent the opposite end of said catch to snap into the slotted end of the other member and arranged to be wholly housed therein and to permanently secure the end of the catch therein.

In testimony whereof we aliix our signatures.

EMIL L. JOHNSON. OLOF LUNDSTEN. 

